~ Again, I should apologize for how long these chapters are taking me. Even with a somewhat busy schedule, I should be getting chapters out to you more often. Thanks for your patience!

To Lady Amynestra: I do *plan* to continue this story, and hopefully the updates will be more frequent. My preference would be to see this story through to the end instead of writing a this-is-how-it-was-going-to-end summary.

To BlueGem22: I'm really glad you have been enjoying the story! Updates should (hopefully) come along more frequently. ~

Chapter 3

Kaede watched the group as they approached and noted that their number had grown in the short time they had been gone. She recognized little Shippo and the two-tails, Kilala, but she had never met the wolf demon that was now walking behind Kagome. With a sigh and a mental complaint about her old joints, the priestess walked out to invite them into her small but comfortable hut. "Ye have returned already? Come inside so we can talk over some tea."

Once everyone was seated around the small fire, Kagome gave the older priestess an update. "We went back to the Bone Eater's Well – and met Kouga along the way – and found a mirror hanging inside the Well." She glanced over at Sesshomaru; he had been in a bad mood the entire way back since Rin wouldn't go anywhere near him while he carried the mirror and no one else was willing to touch the thing.

The demon lord in question caught her glance and wordlessly pulled out the mirror for Kaede to inspect. The older miko's hand had reached towards it, but she stopped herself and pulled back. A frown creased her face, "I daren't touch it. That mirror is an evil thing that only a powerful demon can resist or control. There is no doubt that it is responsible for your present troubles."

Inu Yasha stood and unsheathed his sword, "Then we just have to smash it!"

Sesshomaru spoke with a voice like ice, "Half breed..."

Rin picked up on her Lord's mood and a mysterious little smile curved her lips as she whispered, "Osuwari."

As the hanyou's face was introduced to the floor, Kagome sighed tiredly and explained to a startled Kaede, "Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention that apparently Rin and I are both able to control Inu Yasha's geas."

"Lady Kaede, what did you mean when you said that only a powerful demon can control or resist the mirror? Why can a miko not do the same?" Sango asked into the thought-filled silence that followed.

"And why the heck can the runt control the stupid geas as well as Kagome?" Inu Yasha growled as he pulled his face off the ground and took his seat once more.

A giggle filled the room and all eyes turned to Rin as she walked over to the red-robed hanyou. "Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari!" The giggles turned into helpless laughter as the poor hanyou was repeatedly introduced to the dirt face first.

Kagome grimaced and reached out towards the girl, "Rin, sweetie..."

The corners of Sesshomaru's lips twitched ever so faintly, but there was no trace of it in his voice as he spoke, "Rin, enough." With a happy giggle, the girl in question rushed to his side and sat down.

Kouga snickered and added in, "Inu Yasha's dumb enough as it is, he doesn't need any help." Sango and Miroku both sighed in exasperation while Shippo remained wisely silent on the matter (see, he was learning!). Kagome watched the hanyou as he lay twitching on the floor and waited for him to get up and charge at either Kouga or Sesshomaru.

Kaede cleared her throat to get their thoughts back on the important matter at hand – that being the mirror, not Inu Yasha – so they could work towards a solution. "I will need time to study the texts and see what I can find. As for why a miko cannot control or resist the mirror -" Her gaze shifted to rest on Sango, "- the evil it contains is too powerful."

"Lady Kaede," Miroku spoke up with a thoughtful expression, "if it can only be controlled by a powerful demon, then would Lord Sesshomaru not be able to use it to switch the girls back into their own bodies?"

All eyes shifted to the silent demon with questioning looks. Those looks were met with cold eyes that only thawed (marginally) when they landed on young Rin; she may be in the miko's body, but she was still his ward. He wasn't sure if it would work, but it was worth a try if Rin might be returned to her own body. Holding the mirror, he looked at both of the girls, "Rin. Miko. Put your hand on the mirror."

Rin wanted to obey him, she really did, but that evil mirror scared her. There was a dark energy humming along the glass that made her skin crawl and made her want to run from the hut and leave it far behind her. She nearly did too, but stopped when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked to see Kagome smiling reassuringly at her and the young girl relaxed a little. "Together?" She asked in a quiet voice that couldn't hide her fear.

The young miko nodded, "Together." It honestly surprised her that the entire group (even Inu Yasha!) was being quiet. Pushing that thought to the side, she took hold of Rin's hand, and together they reached out to touch the glass of the mirror.

All eyes watched as Sesshomaru focused his energy on the mirror, trying to bend its will to his own. After several minutes of tense silence, the demon opened his eyes with a frown of displeasure, "The mirror will not respond to my will. It would appear that the only one able to reverse it is the one who set the trap in the first place."

"Which leads us right back to Naraku. Lovely." Kagome sighed wearily as she sat back on a cushion. Things were not supposed to go like this! Before she fell through that well, she had been a normal high school girl (ignoring that she lived at a shrine) with normal issues like exams. That train of thought made her freeze as she got a sinking feeling. Exams. Finals. FINALS!? "How am I going to write my math final in this body!? I still have to study!"

Several pairs of confused eyes (or indifferent, in Sesshomaru's case) looked at the distressed miko. She always seemed to get kind of...panicky? freaked out? whenever the topic of these tests came up. Kaede handed her another cup of tea, "Drink, child. There is not much ye can do about this 'final' until the two of ye have switched back."

Shippo nuzzled against his human, "It'll work out, Kagome."

"When is this 'final' that worries you so much, miko?" All eyes turned to the youkai lord as he spoke, his tone quiet but holding an unexpected curiosity.

"In five days." The frazzled girl responded, finding herself intrigued by the very fact that he was even asking.

Kouga sat next to her and stretched, "Then we'd better get you back in your own body before then." He smirked at Inu Yasha as the hanyou scowled in anger (jealousy, really, but the idiot wouldn't admit it).

Then Sesshomaru made an offer that made the entire hut go silent in absolute shock and disbelief, "I will help you prepare for your 'final' once you are back in your own body."

"I - ...Ok. That would...I would appreciate the help, Lord Sesshomaru." Kagome somehow managed to a) not have a heart attack from shock, and b) thank him. If it wasn't for his unmistakable aura, she might have almost thought it was someone else (a kinder twin, perhaps?). Maybe this was his way of paying her back for helping Rin?

- Four days to exam day -

After an evening spent discussing the situation and possible tactics to use against Naraku, everyone had been tired (except a certain youkai lord) and had fallen asleep. The young miko awoke the next morning to the feeling of something fuzzy against her hand. Opening her eyes to peer blearily at whatever-it-was, she went absolutely still as her brain registered what her eyes were seeing.

Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands and generally not friendly to humans (except Rin), was laying asleep on the mat next to her own. And the fuzzy thing she had felt against her hand? Yeah, that was his tail.

Kagome almost gave a shriek when an arm suddenly flopped across her waist, but managed to keep silent and relaxed when she recognized the arm. Ah, apparently Rin was sleeping on her other side. Well, that would explain Sesshomaru's proximity. Of course! It made sense now that she thought about it calmly...calmly-ish. Ho boy.

"Miko." The quietly spoken word brought her attention snapping right back to the dangerous inu youkai as he sat up. Everyone else in the hut was still asleep, so it was peaceful at the moment. Sesshomaru got to his feet in a silent and graceful motion, "Wake the others. Once you have eaten, we will leave." With that, he picked up the still-sleeping Rin and left the small dwelling to wait outside in the clear morning air.

When this particular crisis was over, Kagome vowed she was going to take a week long break from the Feudal Era. Regardless of what a certain hanyou had to say about it. Honestly, she needed a break or she was going to lose it! With a sigh, she set to rousing the others; the sooner they started the hunt for Naraku, the sooner she could get put back into her own body.

Shippo looked around the hut after being woken and blinked when he noticed their group was missing two, "Where did Rin and Sesshomaru go?"

"They're waiting outside, I would imagine." Sango explained as she started getting some breakfast together with Miroku's help.

Once the food was ready, Kagome grabbed two bowls and went outside the hut to where Sesshomaru and Rin were waiting. The young girl had woken and was happily telling her lord about some birds she had seen the other day, but paused mid-sentence when she caught the scent of food. "Breakfast!"

Kagome chuckled and handed one of the bowls to Rin, "There you go. It's going to be a long day, so eat up while you have time." She offered the other bowl to Sesshomaru, "It's not the kind of food you're used to, I'm sure, but you should eat as well."

Glancing at the eagerly eating Rin and then to the miko, the inu youkai nodded and accepted the bowl, "Go eat, miko. We leave soon."

'A 'thank you' would have been nice.' Kagome thought with annoyance as she headed back into the hut to eat. Not that she had been expecting an expression of gratitude from him, in all honesty. Heck, the fact that he had even accepted the food was surprising enough.

As soon as everyone had eaten their fill and the clean up was done, they all gathered outside the hut near the trees. "Time is going to be an issue, so how are we going to find Naraku and get the girls switched back before Kagome's final?" Kouga queried, voicing the question a few of them were pondering.

Rin looked up at her lord with a big smile, "Are we going to ride in the carriage?"

The youkai lord looked down at his young ward thoughtfully. If they rode the carriage through the skies, it would make the hunt for Naraku much faster and get Rin back into her own body sooner (meaning less time spent in Inu Yasha's presence). ""That would be fastest."

Naraku leaned back on his cushions with a dark smile of anticipation. They were all coming to him; all the people he wanted to destroy. He looked over at Kagura as she lounged, polishing the fan she used to enhance her wind magic. His wind sorceress was defiant, though she didn't think he noticed all of her little betrayals. Foolish. "We will be having guests. Make sure to prepare some entertainment for when they arrive."

Kagura paused in polishing her fan and got to her feet, "As you wish." She would set traps as he ordered, but she secretly hoped they would fail. While she bore no love for Inu Yasha and his group, she hated them less than she hated being bound to Naraku. Sesshomaru was...a different story. She wasn't sure how she felt where he was concerned.

Kagome watched the land below fly by as they soared just below the clouds in Sesshomaru's carriage. This had to be the most unnerving thing she had ever experienced in her life – and that was taking all of her other experiences in the Feudal Era into account.

Kouga pulled her into his arms, "Relax, Kagome. You might not be able to count on the mutt to keep you safe, but I won't let anything happen."

"Bastard! Let go of her!" Inu Yasha growled as he shot to his feet and scowled at the wolf demon.

"Inu Yasha..." The miko started warningly, already tired of his attitude and constant need to pick a fight with everyone. The hanyou sat back down, fuming with jealous anger. As she always did when she felt an impending headache, Kagome closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Oh, this was going to be a very very long day.